Darlene,
Precisely!!! and he was on one of Homeland Security's "Bad Guy" lists, but they wouldn't put him on the "no fly list" because the evidence against him was too thin...For crying out loud, his own father, a well respected banker, notified the State Department that the guy was a wing nut...

I guess it makes me wonder what exactly someone has to do to be put on the no fly list?

You are right it was a knee jerk reaction. Protocols already in place should have caught the guy before he ever stepped foot on that plane.